How to start an investment conversation?

Weekly Investment Conversation Starters No. 116

Thanks for reading this newsletter, this week we talk about PillBot, a new sort of medical device, robots that can smile and the worst traffic jams in the world.

Three ideas to start a thematic investment conversation

1. PillBot: a pill that streams from inside your body ?? ??

A startup, PillBot, offers a swallowable pill providing live internal body streaming feed as a non-invasive endoscopy alternative.

2. Researchers made a smiling robot, with "human" skin. ????

Japanese scientists gave robots realistic facial expressions by attaching artificial living skin to their faces.

3. The Big ?? has the world’s worst traffic jam ?? ?? ??

New York City is the most congested city again, with a cost of USD 9.1 bn and 101 hours per driver lost in traffic jams.

1?? A pill that streams from inside your body

Seen in Futurism this week:

• A startup called PillBot offers a high-tech alternative to invasive endoscopy.
• They created a tiny swallowable pill that gives physicians a live feed of the inside of the human body.

Why should you know?

1. Previous ways to look inside the body like surgeries, X-rays and MRIs were quite invasive.
2. This technology opens up doors to more comfortable, affordable medical imaging.
3. Coupled with AI, the pill could benefit from autonomous control and create inside maps of body parts.

How does it work:

• The pill is the size of a multivitamin capsule.
• Guided remotely with a Playstation 5 controller, it can swim with pump jet thrusters.
• Patients don't feel anything when it moves, and the pill exits the body naturally.

Share an investment thought:

???? Investment Theme: Medical Devices

Medical devices can assist in the treatment of many conditions and help reduce the risk of worsening of a treated condition.

2?? Researchers made a smiling robot, with "human" skin

Seen on BBC News this week:

• Japanese scientists attached artificial living skin to a robot face, by copying tissue structures in real people.
• This resulted in far more realistic smiles and other facial expressions for robots.

Why should you know?

1. Creating robots with human-like expressions could help increase usages.
2. The results might be used in research into skin aging and cosmetics.
3. This could also serve in surgical procedures, including plastic surgery.

How does it work:

• The researchers drilled many small holes into the robot.
• They applied a collagen gel before adding the layer of artificial skin, made using living cells.
• The gel plugs tether the skin to the robot.

Share an investment thought:

???? Investment Theme: Automation and Robotics

Robots and automation are driving the fourth industrial revolution and are transforming the future.

3?? The Big Apple has the world’s worst traffic jam

Seen on Bloomberg this week:

• New York City is the world’s most-congested urban area for the second year in a row according to the 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard from INRIX.
• Traffic jams there are costing $9.1 billion in lost time and motorists driving through the city lost 101 hours last year.

Why should you know?

1. 54% of urban areas experienced more delay in 2023 than in 2019 (pre-COVID)
2. The surge in traffic congestion indicates a revival of economic activity post-COVID.
3. But it also led to massive lost time for drivers: USD 70.4 bn in the US, GBP 7.5 bn in the UK and EUR 3.3 bn in Germany.

What other cities stand still?

• Mexico City jumped from 4 to 2.
• London dropped from 2 in 2022 to 3.
• Paris dropped from 3 to 4.

Share an investment thought:

???? Investment Theme: Smart Mobility

Regulatory changes, consumer preferences and technological advances will likely lead to even greater electrification and automatisation of means of transport.

About Investment Conversation Starters

Hand-picked for relationship managers and investment advisors,?Weekly Investment Conversation Starters?is a series of ideas to start a conversation with clients, spark their curiosity and gauge their appetite for thematic investments.

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